River Stones
by ShadowFox197
Summary: Arthur is 10 and pulled from his lonely state into the friendship of the new girl living next to him. With this new found friendship, Arthur and Amelia make their own little world where they rule together as best friends. Based off of Bridge to Terribethia or whatever it's called. Please review, suggestions and critiquing advice are most welcome!


Chapter 1:

Arthur didn't know when it started, or how, but he came upon the realization on one boring Sunday afternoon after finishing all his homework like the good little fifth grader that he was.

He was _alone_.

Completely and utterly, alone. Friendless, companionless, and totally independent of all others. Arthur never realized he had no "friends" until he was offered a friendship. By a girl; the new girl that was moving in across the street.

Arthur lived in the lowland country in the middle of America with his mother and father. He didn't know why they had even moved to America in the first place, though he suspected it had something to do with a job offer, considering how often his father was out of the house. He had been perfectly happy back in England. But then again, he didn't really remember England. He had only been five when they moved, and yet had somehow managed to catch the accent.

At school the other students constantly pestered Arthur because of his accent, annoying Arthur to no end. Though he was exceptional in all of his classes, scoring straight A's across the board, he found school boring. In addition, Arthur's _American_ classmates were infuriating. He swore they never shut up. It seemed as if half the class period was spent by his teacher fruitlessly attempting to gain control of the class. Arthur rubbed his knuckles into his temples, trying to ease the pressure that came with thinking of his annoying classmates.

It didn't help that the girl across the street was just like all the others too. Just looking at her, Arthur could tell she was just like all the other girls at school. Completely inflating the stereotype of an American nine year old girl, Amelia F. Jones was as bright eyed and corn husking rich as an American could get. At least he thought; he hadn't meet her in person yet.

Arthur watched his new and only neighbors move in with a certain level of loathsomeness in his stare. The book he had been reading lay forgotten on the window sill atop a pile of loose sketches he had made. Just watching the 'perfect American family' move in made his stomach churn. The mother cradled a baby to her chest, gently rocking it up and down against her hip as she directed the movers about where she wanted her furniture to be placed. The father was lazily grinding a piece of straw in his jaw as he rolled up his plaid sleeves to help with moving the boxes inside the house. The little girl named Amelia stood by her mother, fiddling with the blue ribbon that was sewed to the fringe of her cotton dress.

"Mother!" Arthur called.

He heard a murmur from downstairs that he took as his cue to continue.

"We've got some new neighbors across the street! That house I told you about earlier is done being constructed!"

As he expected, he got no reply, but he knew his mother had heard. He turned back to the window to continue his observations.

Arthur often did this, sit by his window and look out to the east. In the mornings before school, he usually watched the sunrise before getting dressed. He loved the way the glowing orb appeared above the frilly trees and cast unusual misty shadows on the grass. He always attempted to draw the animals he saw in the shadows, though he was unsatisfied with the mimicked results.

Now that his neighbor's house had been built, he could only barely see the green lacy leaves around the yellow structure. With a saddened sigh, Arthur shuffled his sketches together and put them away in a drawer; he wouldn't be making any more of those. Watching the family move in across from him reminded Arthur of his own family and how disengaged they were. Disconnected from each other, Arthur rarely saw either his mother or father around the house. His father always worked and never seemed to be home. His mother on the other hand was always home, but rarely spoke with Arthur outside of dinner. She lay in bed all day, pretending to be sick when Arthur knew she wasn't.

The two families across the street from each other were incomparable. The obvious harmony going on within that family was so superior to his own it made Arthur feel bitter inside. He didn't like seeing others better than him. Arthur hated everything about these people, and he hadn't even met them yet.

It was just that afternoon that Arthur got to officially meet Amelia. Done moving all of their belongings inside, the new Jones family, as they introduced themselves, came over for introductions. The doorbell rang to Arthur's home, and to his surprise his mother actually got up from her bed and answered the door. Trailing behind, Arthur saw from behind his mother's skirts the family of four standing clumped together on their doorstep.

"Oh hello there." Arthur's mother said politely. "You are the family moving in across from us?"

"Yes, indeed we are!" Mr. Jones laughed, the sound boomingly loudly. All four of the Jones family gave off one hundred watt smiles that were actually glowing with happiness, though Arthur didn't know what they were so happy about. Even the baby seemed to smile, which unnerved Arthur.

While his mother carefully explained the absence of her husband to the Jones parents and leaped into a lengthy explanation about their journey from England five years prior, Arthur began to zone out of the conversation. His eyes were unfocused as he stared behind the Jones, looking at the cow that had appeared in their front yard. He vaguely thought of the peculiar pattern of its spots, and how to draw them.

It was then that he noticed the small girl, Amelia, startling him with such intensity that he took a step back, shielding himself with his mother's skirt. Amelia giggled, the noise sounding fake and high pitched. Arthur felt a blush blossom on his cheeks, but fought furiously to keep it down. He glared at her from behind his mother, imagining just how stupid he must have looked day dreaming about a cow's spots. His cheeks darkened.

Seemingly satisfied with one another's stories, the Jones took their leave from the Kirkland' doorstep, leaving contact information and the promise for Arthur to visit any time he liked. Arthur nodded shyly, knowing he would never set foot in that house, at least not while Amelia was there.

The next day, Arthur watched the sun rise as usual, only briefly feeling annoyance of his newly blocked view. He dressed for school and hurriedly packed his schoolbag, shoving a couple of scones into his bag as he shut the door behind him. He didn't bother saying goodbye; his father was gone and his mother asleep.

Running up to the bus stop at the end of the long driveway, Arthur panted and retrieved one of the scones from his bag. He began munching contently, feeling the cool air around him squeeze what little warmth he had from under his jacket. That's when he realized he was being watched.

He whirled around, desperate to find the source of the eyes that he could feel watching him. A high pitched giggle reached his ears just as he saw Amelia dangling from a low tree branch, her golden hair brushing the ground as she swung from her knees. Her skirts were ruffled up around her face and Arthur hurriedly turned away, not wanting to embarrass her.

"Bloody hell!" Arthur sputtered. "What _are_ you doing?!"

"Swinging." Amelia answered in a sing-song tone. "What are you doing?"

"Waiting for the bus" Arthur answered briskly, still refusing to look at her.

"ME TOO!" Amelia exclaimed. "You should swing with me! It's more fun than just standing there!"  
"No thank you." Arthur shuttered. He began to steadily edge away from the girl before she made some other insane proposition.

"Awww… You're no fun…" Arthur could almost hear the pout that was displayed on her face.

A few moments passed in silence.

"Doesn't the blood rushing to your head hurt?" Arthur finally asked. Though he didn't want to talk to the girl any longer than he had too, he was genuinely curious.

"Not really." Amelia answered. A moment later Arthur heard the crunch of leaves as she swung back down from the branch. He felt her presence beside him, strategically ignored her.

Before long, her warm breath on his cheek pleading him to glance at her won out and he looked at her. Her eyes were closed as she quietly hummed the tune to a song Arthur didn't know. Studying her, Arthur found her golden hair, pulled into pigtails, rather cute. The long-sleeved dress she wore was simple plaid, and matched the bows in her hair. She would fit in just fine with the other girls at his school. Arthur sighed.

Amelia suddenly opened her eyes, startling Arthur as he was caught in the act once again. She turned to Arthur, curiosity written all over her features. Arthur noted for the first time the startling blue that her eyes were, a few shade brighter than what would be considered normal. The school bus appeared over the hill, relieving and surprising Arthur at the same time. He hitched his backpack up a little higher on his shoulder, ready to board the school bus, Amelia right beside him.

Inside, Arthur bumped down the aisle to the back of the bus, tripping multiple times along the way. Once in the back, Arthur set his backpack down beside him like he always did, and pulled his sketchpad out. A moment later he was shocked to look up and see Amelia standing before him.

"Can I sit here?" she asked. Arthur looked behind her to find at least a dozen open seats on the bus. Ignoring the excitement bubbling up inside him, for no one ever sat next to him, he gave a stiff nod and pushed his backpack between his knees, giving her room to sit down next to him.

He turned back to the sketch he had been working on and immediately erased a line that popped out as being wrong to him. Curious as always, Amelia leaned over his shoulder to get a better look at what he was drawing.

"What'cha drawing Arthur?" Amelia asked happily. Her eyes shone brightly as she smiled at him.

Arthur looked back down at his drawing. "A cow."

"My cow?"

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Your cow?"

"Uh huh!" Amelia nodded. "That's what you were looking at yesterday, right?"

Arthur turned back to his drawing, feeling the blush rise in his cheeks. "I guess so…"

"I like it!" Amelia beamed. "Do you draw other stuff besides cows?"

"Of course I do!" Arthur snapped. He irritably tucked the cow drawing away and flipped to the beginning of his sketchpad. He then shoved it over to Amelia, who seemed oblivious to his irritation.

She sat wide eyed for a few minutes, as if she were memorizing every pencil stroke in each of his drawings. "You're really good…" Amelia muttered.

Forgetting his earlier temper, Arthur muttered his thanks.

They arrived at school and were flooded out of the bus with the rest of the children. Thinking he was done with her, Arthur took back his sketchbook and started towards his classroom.

Amelia followed him.

"Which class is yours?" Amelia asked, holding her hands behind her back and skipping lightly.

Arthur looked back at her, questioning her presence. Sighing, he pointed straight ahead of him. "That one." Arthur gestured to a standalone building just behind the swings. Amelia drew a piece of paper from the front pocket in her dress and looked down at it for a moment.

"What number is it?"

"107."

Amelia looked back up to him with a sort of smug expression. "That's my classroom too."

Arthur didn't know how to react, so he didn't. "Oh." Was all that came out. He still didn't know why she was with him.

"Why are you…still…here?" Arthur finally asked. Amelia looked at him with wide blue eyes.  
"Why wouldn't I be here?"

"I don't know!" Arthur spat. "Everybody usually just leaves me alone! Why don't you?!"

Amelia took a step back from Arthur after his sudden outburst. "Why don't I leave you alone?" Amelia repeated. "Because I don't want too. You've been nice to me and I think your accent is funny."

"Well," Arthur huffed, running a hand through this unruly hair, "There's plenty of other people at this school that are both those things, and much more. Go hang out with them." And with that, Arthur turned and stalked away, leaving Amelia alone.

"I think you need my help." She stated quietly.

Arthur turned back to stare at her. "You think that I need help?" Amelia nodded, mute. "What, exactly, do you think I need help with? And what do you think you can help me with anyway!"

"Friendship, Arthur, friendship" Amelia said, wagging her small finger in a very teacher like fashion. Something in the way she smiled unnerved Arthur. "I want to be your friend Arthur. Of course, friendship only works if YOU want to have friends. It's a two-way road. Will you be my friend Arthur?"

Arthur was so shocked, he didn't answer.


End file.
